Danbury boy, 8, plays Pinball Wizard as a child

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 28, 2008

Child actor Christopher Walsh, who's only 8, is stepping onto center stage for the title role of 4-year-old Tommy in WestConn's production of the Who's classic rock opera.

"It's very cool to be in a play with all these people," said an excited Christopher at a rehearsal last week.

For Christopher, the role is the first major step toward his goal of becoming an actor when he grows up. The experience is giving him a chance to work with and learn from his college-age co-stars.

There's also an added perk to the job: "I'm going to be eating cake every night," said Christopher, who has a scene in which he celebrates a birthday with real cake.

His parents, Ed and Rosa Walsh, explained that he got the part on the recommendation of his acting teacher, Linda Randazzo. Since he was 6 he's been attending WestConn's Kid's College acting classes where Randazzo teaches. His mom said he took the classes "just really for fun."

A month or so ago Randazzo recommended him to Sal Trapani, the director of "Tommy" and the chairman of WestConn's theater department.

"We were a little hesitant at first because of the content of the play," said Rosa Walsh.

"I wasn't sure how they were going to portray it, if it was appropriate for his age," added Ed Walsh.

They met with Trapani, who assured them the production would downplay the more adult themes of "Tommy," and that it would be a family-friendly show.

Trapani was thrilled to have Christopher on board as the young pinball wizard. "He's really terrific. He's a natural," said Trapani.

His parents explained that Christopher is always dancing around the house and singing along with music. He learned to turn on the stereo when he was only 3. These days he attends Great Plain Elementary School in Danbury, where he's in third grade.

In addition to acting and singing, Christopher likes rollerblading and swimming. He's never played pinball, but is a big fan of video games.

Christopher is on stage for the first part of the play; he comes back to take part in a big dance number later on in the production. He has one line and mouths along with one song, but most of the time his character is supposed to be deaf dumb and blind, so he doesn't move all that much.

It's not as easy as it sounds though, because Christopher can't react to anything going on around him.

"It's kind of hard to do that because when I see something funny going on I want to giggle," said Christopher.

Trapani said he thought the biggest challenge for Christopher was the scene in which the young Tommy becomes deaf and dumb after witnessing a violent act.

"That's the one difficult part for Christopher," said Trapani. "He's watching this violent act and his parents traumatize him."

Young Tommy's parents tell him he didn't see or hear anything after he's just witnessed a murder; Christopher has to portray the character's trauma and how he withdraws into his own world.

"They don't want me to say (anything) and that's when I go into shock," said Christopher.

For that scene and for the whole play, Christopher got a lot of help from Kayla Koschel, a 19-year-old WestConn sophomore who is playing the role of 10-year-old Tommy in the production.

Koschel helped him learn the stage direction for his part and also helped him grasp the psyche of his character. "He picked up on the idea about being in his own world right away," said Koschel. "We were all in awe of how he was just staring."

Koschel said everyone is having a lot of fun with Christopher. "We all love him; he dances back stage with us," she said.

In addition to Koschel, Rosa and Ed Walsh say the whole cast and crew have been great to him and have really taken him under their wing.

Christopher was equally kind in his praise of his co-stars. "They shouldn't be here; they should be on Broadway," he said.

Christopher has an older sister, Vanessa, 22, and a younger brother, Michael, 5. Both siblings have been big supporters of his burgeoning acting career. Michael often comes to the rehearsals with Christopher.

The rehearsals can be long; sometimes they go from 8 p.m. to almost 11 p.m. Of late, Rosa Walsh says "our routine has been anything but routine."

But so far there's nothing about acting that Christopher doesn't like and when "Tommy" is finished, he says he'll miss it.

As far as opening night jitters go, Christopher isn't nervous about performing in a real play for the first time.

If only the same could be said of his mom.

"I keep asking him if he's nervous and he says no," she said. "I think I'm more nervous."